The Oregon Health Authority’s COVID-19 Weekly Report, released Thursday, shows decreases in daily cases and deaths and an increase in hospitalizations.  The OHA reported 7,707 new cases of COVID-19 during the week ending October 24.  That represents a 4.1% decrease from the previous week and the eighth consecutive week of declining case counts.  The incidence of reported COVID-19 cases was higher in Oregon counties with population vaccination rates less than 50%.  There were 415 new COVID-19 hospitalizations, up from 377 last week, marking the first time hospitalizations have risen following seven consecutive weeks of declines.  There were 110 reported COVID-19 related deaths, down from 183 reported the previous week, and the lowest weekly death toll since the week of August 16.  There were 137,537 tests for COVID-19 for the week ending October 23.  The percentage of positive tests was 7.4%, down from 7.6% the previous week.